Platform Behavior under Market Shocks: A Simulation Framework and Reinforcement-Learning Based Study

We study the behavior of an economic platform (e.g., Amazon, Uber Eats, Instacart) under shocks, such as COVID-19 lockdowns, and the effect of different regulation considerations. To this end, we develop a multi-agent simulation environment of a platform economy in a multi-period setting where shocks may occur and disrupt the economy. Buyers and sellers are heterogeneous and modeled as economically-motivated agents, choosing whether or not to pay fees to access the platform. We use deep reinforcement learning to model the fee-setting and matching behavior of the platform, and consider two major types of regulation frameworks: (1) taxation policies and (2) platform fee restrictions. We offer a number of simulated experiments that cover different market settings and shed light on regulatory tradeoffs. Our results show that while many interventions are ineffective with a sophisticated platform actor, we identify a particular kind of regulation - fixing fees to the optimal, no-shock fees while still allowing a platform to choose how to match buyers and sellers - as holding promise for promoting the efficiency and resilience of the economic system. © 2023 ACM.

Lessons for the Age of Consequences: COVID-19 and the Macroeconomy

Comparative empirical evidence for 22 OECD countries shows that country differences in cumulative mortality impacts of SARS-CoV-2 are caused by weaknesses in public health competences, pre-existing variances in structural socio-economic and public health vulnerabilities, and the presence of fiscal constraints. Remarkably, the (fiscally non-constrained) U.S. and the U.K. stand out, as they experience mortality outcomes similar to those of fiscally-constrained countries. High COVID19 mortality in the U.S. and the U.K. is due to pre-existing socio-economic and public health vulnerabilities, created by the following macroeconomic policy errors: (a) a deadly emphasis on fiscal austerity (which diminished public health capacities, damaged public health and deepened inequalities);(b) an obsessive belief in a trade-off between ‘efficiency' and ‘equity', which is mostly used to justify extreme inequality;(c) a complicit endorsement by mainstream macro of the unchecked power over monetary and fiscal policy-making of global finance and the rentier class;and (d) an unhealthy aversion to raising taxes, which deceives the public about the necessity to raise taxes to counter the excessive liquidity preference of the rentiers and to realign the interests of finance and of the real economy. The paper concludes by outlining a few lessons for a saner macroeconomics.

FAIR TAXATION UNDER THE GLOBAL ANTI-BASE EROSION RULES?

In 2021 the OECD launched the Global Minimum Company Tax to implement the Action 1 of the BEPS Project. This instrument has seen as a good mechanism to prevent company avoiding taxes at the global level and to stop existence of the harmful tax regimes worldwide, as well as a good mechanism to achieve fair taxation in the era of global digitalization. However, the broke-out of the COVID-19 pandemic and, consequently, the close of the national borders, then armed conflict between Russia and Ukraine, boost financial crisis and the crises in almost all social and industrial spheres at the global level. Such unwilling trend, between all, has influenced behavior of the companies and the initial optimism of the OECD and other international organizations that the global minimum company tax, at the very end, would end existence of the harmful tax regimes, tax avoidance and unfair taxation, dropped significantly. Therefore, at the very end of the 2022 and the beginning of the 2023, the OECD launched consultation document on tax certainty in the application of the Pillar Two of the global minimum tax known as a GloBE (Global Anti-Base Erosion) Model Rules. This paper deals with mentioned issue and actual problems that the application of the GLoBE rules is faced with.

Are Federal Taxation Requirements Moving the EU Away from Flexible Integration?

This chapter addresses developments in EU tax policy with an emphasis on processes for decision-making. It explores the change in views on tax competition and how this has led to restrictions in member states' ability to design their own tax systems. The chapter highlights the impetus towards increased federalism entailed by the EU policies to recover from COVID-19 and to promote a green and digital transition for the EU economy. The chapter discusses how the Commission has worked to change the EU decision processes in the field of taxes from unanimity to qualified majority voting. The chapter concludes that the EU must show that it can promote economic growth and efficiency in the tax systems before member states will have enough confidence to entrust more decision-making in tax matters to the EU. © The Editor(s) (if applicable) and The Author(s), under exclusive license to Springer Nature Switzerland AG 2023.

(No) country for old men? Intergenerational welfare distribution across welfare state regimes

PurposeThe article examines the interplay between welfare state regimes and the distribution of welfare between generations.Design/methodology/approachUsing data from 2017 for 24 European countries on six standard of living dimensions, the authors investigate the intergenerational welfare distribution in a two-stage procedure: (1) the authors compare the intergenerational welfare distribution across welfare state regimes using their existing typologies and find a moderate nexus. Therefore, (2) the authors employ clustering procedure to look for a new classification that would better reflect the cross-country variation in the intergenerational welfare division.FindingsThe authors find a complex relationship between the welfare state model and welfare distribution across generations and identify the policy patterns that shape it. Continental and liberal regimes are quite similar in these terms and favour the elderly generation. Social-democratic and CEE regimes seem to be a bit more balanced. COVID-19 pandemic will probably increase the intergenerational imbalance in terms of welfare distribution in favour of the elderly.Originality/valueIn contrast to the majority of previous studies, which employ inputs (social expenditures) or outputs (benefits, incomes), the authors use intergenerational balance indicators reflecting living conditions of a given generation as compared to the reference point defined as an average situation of all generations.

Resilience of the rural employment sector to economic shocks in India

The study explores the effect of recent economic shocks due to policy changes and the COVID-19 pandemic on rural employment in India. The study uses three cases;(i) demonetization, (ii) Goods and Service Tax (GST) implementation, and the recent (iii) COVID-19 pandemic to explore the resilience of employment in the rural regions of India. The study used state-level data estimates on rural employment in India provided by CMIE, employment data from NSSO, and migration data from the population census. A modified version of interrupted time series analysis within the beta regression framework was used to quantify the effect of shocks. The study shows that the rural unemployment rates increased after economic shocks as per expectations. The effects were smaller in the case of demonetization but were significantly higher in the case of GST. Early trends suggest a significant short-term effect due to COVID-19-induced shock on unemployment. The study shows that the urban sector is more resilient than the rural sector. The study highlights the need for employment guarantee programmes and direct assistance during the shocks to increase the resilience of the rural economy.

Black tax: Experiences of Black professional mothers during COVID-19

The purpose of this research study is to illuminate the lived experiences and Black tax professional Black mothers have incurred during the pandemic. Black tax, defined through the lens of Black professional mothers, proposes a new perspective: the intersectionality of being Black, a woman and a survivor of the COVID-19 pandemic. Guided by the strong Black woman schema and Double ABC-X Model as theoretical frameworks, this study examined the inequities of the additional stressors and responsibilities of working from home, heightened parent engagement, financial insecurity, and mental stress. During the timeframe of August 2020 and October 2021, Black mothers self-reported stressors and described their financial, job and housing insecurities to the U.S. Census Bureau Household Pulse Survey (HPS), publicly accessible data set. Data was collected biweekly for real time tracking. A series of chi-square goodness of fit tests and descriptive characteristics including frequency analysis were conducted to answer eight research questions. Three overarching key questions directed the statistical analyses: 1) How do Black mothers report stressors? 2) How do Black mothers describe their financial security and insecurity? 3) How did Black mothers navigate working from home and online education? Key findings indicated significant disproportionate levels of distress Black mothers compared to non-Black mothers during the pandemic. Results exposed the financial fragility, food insufficiency, housing insecurity and health inequities of this subset group. Implications for the field expanding current focus of societal effects of the pandemic to include examining the crisis Black professional mothers are struggling to manage as a result of the pandemic. (PsycInfo Database Record (c) 2023 APA, all rights reserved)

INDIVIDUAL HOME-WORK ASSIGNMENTS FOR STATE TAXES

The surge in work-from-home arrangements brought on by the COVID-19 pandemic threatens serious disruptions to state tax systems. Billions of dollars are at stake at this pivotal moment as states grapple with where to assign income earned through these remote work arrangements for tax purposes: the worker's home or the employer's location? Some states-intent on modernizing their income tax laws-have assigned such income to the employer's location, but have faced persistent challenges on both constitutional and policy grounds in response. This Article provides a vigorous defense against such challenges. The Supreme Court has long interpreted the Constitution to be deferential to state tax actions;new laws for the age of remote work surely satisfy constitutional demands. Moreover, assigning income from remote work to the employer's location is more equitable than assigning the income to the worker's home, justifying modernization efforts from a policy perspective. The solution to this homework assignment problem is evident: the states must revise their tax laws to face the evolving nature of work.

Tax literacy: what does it mean?

PurposeThis paper aims to identify the competency domains to be included in a conceptual framework for tax literacy.Design/methodology/approachUsing a qualitative approach, this study expands on the current understanding of the competency areas of tax literacy. A dual-purpose literature review was, therefore, conducted. The literature review first provided the body of knowledge that underpinned the study and second, the key data concepts for the draft competency structure to determine whether there is consensus on an international (supra) level. The literature review was supported by an interactive qualitative analysis to further present the concept of tax literacy from the perspectives of various national stakeholders in an emerging economy. Accounting and public finance educators from a higher education institution, as well as financial advisers as representatives of a profession with a direct interest in tax-related matters, were considered.FindingsAlthough a discipline lens seems to strongly influence the previous authors' view of what tax literacy means, it was possible to identify certain tax literacy competency domains that should be included in a taxpayer education curriculum. These content domains consist first of a knowledge domain which includes disciplinary, interdisciplinary, epistemic and procedural knowledge components. Second, the skills domain should include components of cognitive and meta-cognitive, social and emotional, as well as physical and practice skills. Third, personal and societal attitudes and values represent the third domain. Fourth, transformative competencies such as value creation, taking responsibility and reconciliation attributes are important. Finally, core foundational competencies, such as numeracy and literacy should be in place.Practical implicationsThe draft conceptual framework for tax literacy could serve as the foundation for the further development of a tax literacy measurement instrument, as well as tax education courses.Originality/valueA more holistic conceptual framework for tax literacy, portraying the multidimensional nature of taxation, is presented in contrast to the limited one-dimensional position presented up to now.

Digital Transformation in Vietnam: Policies, Results and Recommendations

This paper attempts to elucidate Vietnam's strategies and policies for fostering digital transformation. Vietnam has made some progress in the digital transformation of its economy but there are challenges to achieving further progress. Business enterprises struggle to adopt digital technologies due to technical, financial and regulatory constraints. These constraints include conversion costs, internal infrastructure resources, data leakages and ineffective regulations. The government has provided support for the digital transformation of enterprises through improvements in its å framework for the digital economy, promotion of science and technology, taxation regime and SME assistance. The government should undertake further legal reforms to support digital transformation, strengthen digital human resources and enhance e-government capabilities.

Impact of Direct Taxation on Economic Growth: Empirical Evidence Based on Panel Data Regression Analysis at the Level of Eu Countries

Through fiscal policy, the government can influence businesses and individuals in order to regulate their behaviour. The research used panel data from all 27 EU countries covering the period 2008–2020 to investigate the impact of direct taxation on economic growth at the level of two main clusters of countries concerning fiscal efficiency. Therefore, the analysis employed cluster methods to classify the main EU countries in both groups of countries with a high level of fiscal efficiency and those with a rather limited level of fiscal efficiency. The study employs fixed effect models and dynamic GMM methods to investigate the effect of direct taxation components (personal and corporate income taxes) on economic growth. The analysis also considers the informal economy's role in relation to the official economy. The empirical results revealed that corporate income taxes significantly negatively impact economic growth for both clusters of high- and limited fiscal efficiency countries. Additionally, personal income tax was associated with lower economic growth for countries in the limited fiscal efficiency group. Thus, from the perspective of policymakers, lowering direct taxation can increase disposable income, stimulate consumption and economic growth, encourage investment leading to job creation, increase competitiveness, and reduce tax evasion and avoidance, thereby leading to a more efficient tax system.

A POST-COVID-19 ECONOMIC ASSESSMENT OF THE CHILEAN NDC REVISION

Last year, Chile updated its Nationally Determined Contributions, moving from intensity-based emissions reductions to an effective emissions target. This paper aims to assess the economic and environmental impacts of this change in the current context of high uncertainty Chile faces with social protests and the COVID-19 pandemic. Using the computable general equilibrium model GEMINI-E3, we performed a sensitivity analysis assuming different levels of economic growth through 2030. Though at first glance the revised commitments appear more ambitious, we found that they could lead to higher emissions in low-growth scenarios. The results show that intensity-based emissions targets indeed become less stringent when assuming high levels of economic growth and thus may result in highly uncertain effective emissions in 2030. On the other hand, given the uncertainty surrounding Chilean economic growth, the updated commitments would be politically more amenable as it would lead to lower welfare losses. In addition, we analyze different redistribution schemes of a CO2 tax and we show that a per capita redistribution rule makes the CO2 tax more progressive and thus fiscally more acceptable.

Energy-environmental-economic assessment of green retrofit policy to achieve 2050 carbon-neutrality in South Korea: Focused on residential buildings

To achieve carbon emission reduction target (CERT) by 2030 and carbon-neutrality in 2050, it is important to actively reduce the emission gap in the private building sector. However, the ongoing COVID-19 pandemic and the Russian-Ukraine war are threatening the green remodeling policy (GRP) worldwide. Therefore, this study analyzed energy consumption savings, GHG emission reduction, and net present value when applying green remodeling to a private building to predict whether or not the current GRP could achieve 2030 CERT and 2050 carbon-neutrality. The main findings are as follows. First, yearly electricity and gas consumption of 84.97 m2 type households can be reduced by 6.19% and 15.58% through green remodeling. Second, based on the energy saving, yearly GHG emission can be reduced about 0.34tCO2eq. Third, the economic feasibility of green remodeling cannot be achieved via the current policy, and NPV17 decreases up to USD-51,485 depending on the credit loan interest rate and the green remodeling interest subsidy program. In other words, it is difficult to reach 2030 CERT and 2050 carbon-neutrality via the current policy. Therefore, the South Korean government is required to reorganize financial policies, establish active systems, increase public awareness of the policy, and improve energy efficiency technology. © 2023 Elsevier B.V.

The Taxation of 'Digital Nomads' and the '3 W's': Between Tax Challenges and Heavenly Beaches

Work mobility is not something new, but it certainly received an important boost with the COVID-19 pandemic as many people began working remotely which reflected on their lifestyle. In this context, the objective of the present study is to analyse the challenges imposed by what is known as 'digital nomads' from the exclusive perspective of individual taxation. The first part aims to understand the first 'W', i.e., who the 'digital nomads' are and the factors that favour the choice for this type of work. Subsequently, it examines the impacts caused by the 'digital nomadism' in determining the tax residence (second 'W' – where) and presents the measures, albeit incipient and indistinguishable, adopted by some countries in relation to this phenomenon. The third section delves into the taxation of income obtained by 'digital nomads' through either an employment relationship or the provision of services (third 'W' – what). Based on the analysis of examples and the presentation of some alternatives, this study seeks to demonstrate the need to adapt the tax residence rules at both of the levels of domestic law and double tax treaties (tiebreaker rules). The rules on the taxation of income from employment and the provision of independent services also demand modifications that detach them from the strict need for a physical presence.

The Case for A Global Excess Profits Tax: A Response to Dr. Tarcísio Diniz Magalhães & Professor Allison Christians

In striving to slow the spread of the COVID-19 pandemic, governments across the globe acted quickly to implement various "stay-at- home" orders and bans on all "non-essential activities." While these actions were likely effective in slowing the spread of the virus, the economic impacts were felt almost immediately. The US deficit rose to $3.1 trillion following massive spending to aid individuals and small businesses. Internationally, governments have been increasing their debt loads to combat both the health and financial impacts of the pandemic. Indeed, by the end of 2020, the international debt load increased to a record-breaking $281 trillion. Almost as quickly, various proposals have been offered regarding how to mitigate this pandemic-fueled deficit. One solution offered is the return of a historical tax scheme-an excess profits tax. Excess profits taxes have historically been applied both domestically and internationally during times of war. Although there are variations in how an excess profits tax is calculated, traditionally, an excess profits tax is applied to those companies who earn returns in excess of a set "normal" rate of return.

Has the acceleration of privatization become inevitable in Bahrain?

Bahrain remains the most vulnerable Gulf country due to its limited savings and sharp rise in debt levels, leaving it exposed to high financing risks. The financial crisis has been deepened by the economic double blow of the decline in oil prices and the effects resulting from the outbreak of the coronavirus pandemic. Bahrain has decreased subsidies and increased taxes on many products. Those measures seem, however, insufficient to mitigate the negative impacts on the economy. This paper presents a model based on a comparison between fast privatization and gradual privatization strategies undertaken in some Bahraini economic sectors. It shows that the contribution of privatization to economic restructuring is only as effective as the commitment of the government to maintain a high pace of privatization. This condition can provide needed revenues, and can particularly foster private investments and initiatives. Therefore, it may represent an appropriate context to elevate Bahrain out of the present equilibrium characterized by slow privatization and government dominance on the economy.

Quoi qu'il en coûte : un conditionnement incertain des aides publiques ?

Le versement massif d'aides publiques par les États membres pour venir au secours de l'économie affectée par cette crise sanitaire sans précédent, s'effectue dans un cadre qui peut apparaître très permissif. L'observateur peu averti pouvant avoir le sentiment que la Commission autorise toutes les aides sans conditions et sans lignes claires. Un examen plus attentif doit toutefois conduire à une conclusion bien différente car si la Commission utilise son pouvoir de contrôle pour sauver des pans entiers de l'économie européenne, elle instrumentalise aussi ce pouvoir d'autorisation pour d'autres finalités : la résilience de notre modèle social et la mutation de notre économie pour l'adapter aux impératifs du XXIe siècle.Alternate : The massive disbursement of public aid by Member States to come to the aid of the economy affected by this unprecedented health crisis is taking place within a framework that may appear very permissive. The uninformed observer may feel that the Commission is authorizing all aid without conditions and without clear lines. A closer examination should however lead to a very different conclusion because if the Commission uses its power of control to save whole sections of the European economy, it also exploits this power of authorization for other purposes: the resilience of our social model and the transformation of our economy to adapt it to the imperatives of the 21st century.

A Study on Effect of Coronavirus Outbreak on India's Goods and Service Tax Revenue: An Analysis

The Coronavirus Outbreak is on a seeming drop in India, the effect of the epidemic on the economy is still mounting, as fresh waves of COVID-19 contagion are nodding nearby. Any projected-on income influence, thus, might be allowed meanwhile inadequacy and restrictions. Yet, as per GDP statistics of the previous two quarters it currently exists, and as per Goods and service tax illustrates the positive indication of regaining amongst all return's channels. The study emphasizes the problem of reimbursement to states in the case of a revenue deficit protected in the existing rule, and the states In India will have to experience the revenue deficit, which may be helped in the evaluation of goods and service tax. The study subsidizes the current discussion on Goods and Service tax compensation provisions of states by allocating another set of budgets for the financial year 2021. © 2023, The Author(s), under exclusive license to Springer Nature Switzerland AG.

Taxation in the COVID-19 Pandemic: to Pay or Not to Pay.

Like many governments in this COVID-19 pandemic, the Nigerian government imposed a lockdown on the country. As a consequence of the lockdown, many businesses shutdown and effectively had no source of revenue. Yet, without receiving any bailout or palliatives from the government, these businesses are required to meet their tax obligations to the government. Bearing in mind that this time (COVID-19 era) is different, one wonders what is required of businesses in view of the taxation problem and the social contract between the businesspersons and the government. In view of social contract obligations, in this COVID-19 pandemic should businesses pay tax to a government that seems to have delegitimised itself by its exploitative actions in terms of taxation and delinquent omission in terms of the provision of public goods and social services? The Nigerian government at all tiers (federal, state and local) seldom respect the essence of taxation. Therefore, businesses often pay tax for nothing. For many businesses, as far as taxation is concerned, to pay or not to pay? that is the question. This article is aimed at teasing out this taxation problem that may or may not be a moral dilemma. In view of certain ethical considerations, this article shows why in spite of social contract obligations, there is no consensus or canonical agreement on whether, as law-abiding citizens and juridical persons (legal entities), businesspersons and businesses ought to or ought not to pay tax to the Nigerian government in this COVID-19 pandemic.

Impact of CSR Spending on the Financial Performance of Indian Manufacturing Firms

We empirically examine the influence of corporate responsibility spending on manufacturing enterprises domiciled in India. Furthermore, the study scrutinizes the influence that the onset of the Covid-19 posed on these enterprises. The variables considered for this purpose are spanning from 2014 to 2020 which have been extracted from the prowess IQ repository. The investigation designates earnings after taxation as a dependent variable;corporate social responsibility is the independent variable;leverage and enterprise's size as control variables. Evaluation of the data relies on the fixed effect regression approach. The outcome established that CSR spending positively and significantly influences earnings after taxation, whereas a negligible relationship was noted for the return on assets of the enterprises. Lastly, the outcome identified that leverage places a negative significant influence on the enterprises' earnings after taxation and return on assets.